An inquest into the death of Savita Halappanavar in Galway has uncovered
grave shortcomings in the care she received prior to her death, chiefly
the failure to terminate her pregnancy when her life was threatened by a
miscarriage.

The jury in the inquest today returned a unanimous verdict of death by
medical misadventure.

Speaking in Galway this afternoon after the verdict, her husband Praveen
Halappanavar said his wife was “left there to die”.

An Indian woman who was settled in Galway, Savita Halappanavar died in
hospital in October after an abortion which might have saved her life
was not carried out. At one point, she was told an abortion was not
possible because Ireland was ‘a Catholic country’. She died from
multi-organ failure from septic shock and E.coli, four days after she
delivered a dead foetus.

The case reopened Ireland’s abortion debate and renewed demands for the
introduction of long-awaited legislation to allow for abortion in
certain emergency circumstances.

The jury today endorsed all nine recommendations of the coroner Ciaran
MacLoughlin. His first recommendation is for clarification on when
abortion can take place to save the life of the mother. There are also
eight other recommendations covering basic medical procedures and
protocols which he said had failed at University Hospital, Galway,
including the handling of blood samples, management of sepsis (systemic
infection), communication between medical teams and record keeping.

Mr Halappanavar said his wife’s care in Galway had been ‘horrendous,
barbaric and inhumane’.

“Medicine is all about preventing the natural history of the disease and
improving the patient’s life and health and look what they did. She was
just left there to die. We were always kept in the dark,” he said.

“If Savita would have known her life was at risk she would have jumped
off the bed, straight to a different hospital. But we were never told.”

“It’s horrendous, barbaric and inhumane the way Savita was treated in
that hospital.”

Mr Halappanavar said he is still considering further action through the
courts in Europe as be believes his wife’s right to life was breached.

“I haven’t got my answers yet why Savita died. I will get to the bottom
of the truth,” he said.

Commenting on the verdict in the inquest Sinn Fein Health and Children
spokesperson, Caoimhghin O Caolain TD, said that the outcome was
“damning” and would have far-reaching implications.

“Savita was sadly let down by the healthcare system. The nine
recommendations adopted by the jury arise directly from very serious
shortcomings that were made clear in evidence during the inquest,” he
said.

“The recommendation on the need for far clearer guidelines on the
appropriateness and timing of termination to save the life of the
mother, is especially important. Such guidelines, in tandem with
legislation in line with the X case, need to be advanced as speedily as
possible.”